Logistics company EuroFruitPorts looks back on a good year. In terms of volume the company had a 5% increase compared to 2014. Peter Tops says that this mainly has to do with increasing yields from banana plantations in Western Africa, "There was also a higher volume of potatoes and onions from the Ivory Coast."
Bananas
The company's main activity still revolves around import, and in particular, bananas. EuroFruitPorts bananas come from various countries in Africa. EuroFruitPorts was founded three years ago in Antwerp. The company is a joint venture between Euroports and Compagnie Fruitière. Compagnie Fruitière holds 49% of the shares, "We also have a few smaller customers in the fresh produce sector. The increasing volume mainly comes from already existing customers. New customers, especially new customers in import, is still far off on the horizon."
Jan Simons (Operations Supervisor) and Peter Tops (General Manager).
Automatic lift system
In early 2015 a new unloading system for the bananas was introduced with an automatic lift system, "After a few hiccups, the system works flawlessly," says Peter. "We have had very few technical problems. It is not necessarily faster, but definitely more economic."
Increase in organic
The company plans to continue the positive trend this year as well, "Every year 200,000 tons of fruit is unloaded from ships and 50,000 tons from containers. This year we expect a small increase in these numbers. Export grows every year, we expect an increase in containers in particular. The goods being shipped include onions, potatoes and various non-fresh produce related items." Peter sees an increase in the supply of organic bananas, "We see more opportunities here in the future. Last year we received, on average, 10-15 tons per week, and that has already increased to 40-50 tons per week. I expect that organic volumes will continue to increase. Consumers in Europe are increasingly interested in organic products."
For more information:
Peter Tops
Eurofruitports NV
Land van Waaslaan 5
Haven 1207 - 9130
Kallo - Belgium
T +32 3 570 35 39
M +32 497 52 96 39
www.eurofruitports.com